Today: Work on choosing the topic and refining the question



1 Choose a Topic 💡

Exercise: If you don’t have a topic yet, you can go to My notes for Week 3 and choose a topic from the list. Of course, you can choose topics that are not on that list, these are just suggestions.



2 Narrow Down the Topic and Draft Your Question 📝

Exercise: Answer 5 times the question “What” 🔄

  1. What is my topic: Conflict
  2. What about Conflict: Civil Conflict
  3. What about Civil Conflict: Duration of Civil Conflict
  4. What about the Duration of Civil Conflict: Long-lasting civil conflicts
  5. What about Long-lasting civil conflicts: What are the factors that increase the duration of civil conflicts❓

📌 Templates:

Use these question structures to refine your research inquiry:

•   “What is the relationship between ___ and ___?”
•   “To what extent does ___ affect ___?”
•   “How has ___ changed over time?”



3 Define the Boundaries of the Topic 🔍

Exercise: “5Ws and H” Approach: What, When, Where, Why, How, and Who

Ask yourself questions to refine your focus. Some may be practical, like “Where do I get data from?” Try answering the ones you can! ✅

❓ What - What are Civil Conflicts? - What are long-lasting Civil Conflicts? - What are the factors that fuel civil conflicts?

3.0.1 ⏳ When

  • When did these conflicts happen?
  • What is my timeframe? I will concentrate on Civil Conflicts after World War II

3.0.2 🤔 Why

  • Why do some conflicts last longer than others?
  • Why is it important to know this?

3.0.3 🌍 Where

  • Where are these civil conflicts taking place?
  • Where am I going to focus my study? South America
  • Where do I find the data?

3.0.4 📊 How

  • How do I want to analyse this? Qualitatively or Quantitatively?
  • How do long-lasting conflicts affect countries?

3.0.5 👥 Who

  • Who are the actors involved in long-lasting conflicts?
  • Who knows about civil conflicts?



4 Refine Your Question 📌

What are the factors that affect the duration of civil conflicts after WWII in South America?

5 Alternative Approach 🔄

Need a different approach? Try the PICO framework (often used in social sciences and health research, but adaptable for politics).

•   **P**opulation  
•   **I**ntervention  
•   **C**omparison  
•   **O**utcome

📌 Example:

  • Population: UK voters
  • Intervention: Brexit campaign
  • Comparison: No Brexit campaign
  • Outcome: Change in public opinion

6 The “So What?” Test 🤔

This exercise helps justify the importance of your topic!

Activity: State your research question, then ask, “So what?” until you clarify its significance.

📌 Example:

🔹 Question: “What are the factors that increase the duration of civil conflicts?”
- So what? “Long-lasting conflicts have devastating consequences”
- So what? “By knowing the factors that fuel conflicts, we can change policies of de-escalation and peace-building”

7 Twist and Turn: Reframe Your Question 🌀

Frame your draft question in different ways!

Example:

What are the factors that increase the duration of civil conflicts?

•   “What is the relationship between the <u>duration of civil conflicts<u/> and <u>the environment<u/>?”  
•   “To what extent does <u>a long-lasting civil conflict<u/> affect <u>the environment<u/>?”  
•   “How has <u>the duration of conflicts<u/> changed over time?”